Electric floor machine



Nov. 28, 1933. w. L. M GEE 1,937,287

ELECTRIC FLOOR MACHINE Filed Feb. 6, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet l W. L. M GEE ELECTRIC FLOOR MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 28, 1933.

Filed Feb. 6, 1929 fl wi) as? fi 23 ix J6 M 47 i 4 a 6 4a 6 u f 14 .11 65 2 J9 i 8 Z7 13 10 J0 w J 1 I I 5. 6 16,18 5 i "'1 1 ZV'JJ 7 Jrzqenior Nov; 28, 1933. w McGEE 1,937,287

ELECTRIC FLOOR MACHINE Filed Feb. 6, 1929 4Sheets-Sheet 3 Nov. 28, 1933. w. 1.. M GEE ELECTRIC FLOOR MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb.. 6. 1929 Patented Nov. 28, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

One of the objects ofmy invention is to pro-v 1o poses as, for example, to polish a floor that is already waxed and does not require the application of more wax in order to re-polish the same; to enable a housewife to removably secure to the floor polishing machine an appliance which will deliver to the floor, in advance of the brushes,

the proper amount of wax to be spread and polished by the brushes, said appliance containing a mechanically operated pump for deliveringthe wax from a reservoir to the floor, said pump being a rotary one operated by rollers on which the weight of the appliance is supported-on the floor, whereby the amount of wax delivered from the machine or appliance to the floor, when adjusted, is always the same-for a given area of the floor.

A further object of my invention is to actuate a mechanical feeding mechanism of a waxing appliance by the to and fro movement which is ordinarily used in polishing and finishing floors, and operative to deliver a given amount of War; for any given area of the'floor, irrespective of the speed at which the device "is moved over thefloor.

A further object-of my invention is to provide a waxing appliance for 'a floor polishing machine wherein the wax is delivered in advance of the brushes whenever the brushes are moved bodily in one direction as, for instance, forwardly, and to automatically stop the delivery of wax to the floor whenever the movement of the device in the opposite direction, as for instance, rearwardly;

A further object of this invention is to provide a device for attaching the brushes to the spindles by which they are carried and rotated, which is very simple in construction and easily operated and without mechanical complications, so that it is merely necessary in order to remove a brush, for one to pull it'straight off the end of the shaft and. against slight resistance, and in order to attech a brush to the shaft, for one to simply slip or slide the brush. on over the lower end of the shaft, the brushes being capable of being interchangeably attached to either of the two brush shafts with which the machine is provided.

A further objectof my invention is to enable the housewife to easily remove one set ofbrus'hes and replace them with another similar set of brushes or tools, dependent upon the use to which she wishes toput the machine, all said tools being easily-attached to either spindle ir-. respective of the direction in which the spindle is rotated by the driving motor.-

A further object is to provide a device com prising a pair of floor-polishing brushes with an appliance for containing and delivering wax to the floor, which for its operation imposes no additional work'upon' the electric motor by which the brushes are rotated said' waxing appliance being detachably connected to the housing of the brushes and its weight being supported on the floor by one or more-rollers which, by their rotation in traveling over the floor, operate a 1 mechanism for positively delivering wax to the A further object of my invention is to practically prevent any one who is not mechanically competent fromchanging the adjustments of the thrust bearings of the relatively high speed electric motor by means of whichthe polishing brushes arerotat'ed in opposite directions.

A further object of my invention-is to provide atelescoping connection between the ends of the shafts and the brushes connected thereto and to dispense with-any screw threaded connection, whereby the brushes may be easily slipped on over the ends of either of the shaftsare removably locked thereon in driving engagement'there- 35,. with. a A-further object of my invention is to provide the telescoping parts of the brush shafts and brush sockets with a locking .devicecomprising a member in'one part,spring pressedtoward the other part and seated in a transverse groove of the said other part when the brush and shaft are in locked engagement witheach other.

A further object of my invention is'to provide the groove in one of said parts, as above described, with a rounded edge over which the rounded end of the plunger may be readily slid in'removing the brush from the shaft, and by which the depression of the plunger against the tension-of the spring is facilitated.

Further'objects of my invention will appear inthe specification and claims below.

Referring now to the drawings forming a part of this Specification and in which the same refer.- ence characters are used throughout the various views to designate the same parts,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the housing or casing of my floor finishing machineQwith the waxing appliance and with the handle removed, and also with one of the cover plates, forming a closure for the chamber in which the gearing is mounted, removed to expose the worm gear and the jam screw for locking the thrust bearing for the motor shaft.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the casing of the fioor polishing machine shown in Fig. 1 with the yoke of the-handle shown in dot-anddash lines and with the waxing appliance omitted but showing the holes or openings within which the studs of the wax appliance may be inserted and locked and supported.

Fig. 3 is a plan View, similar to Fig. 1, but with the left-hand half of the mechanism in horizontal cross-section in a plane coincident. with the, axis of the motor shaft and showing the waxing appliance mounted on the front side of the houfiin Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the apparatus on the line 4--4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing in detail the thrust bearing for the motor shaft, and the lock therefor.

,Fig., 6 isanenlarged sectional view of -,a por- ,tion, of a brush shaft and socket sleeve, the unitary locking member, thelocking plunger-thereof and shape of the upper wall of the groove rounded to facilitatethe removal of the brush.

. Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 7.7,of Fig; 5.

Fig. is a fragmentary verticalaxial sectional view of a slightly modified construction.

Fig. 8 isa vertical sectional view on the axis of the rightshand brush spindle of Fig.1.

Fig.9 isan end elevational view showing the waxing appliance mountedon therfrontof the housing.

Fig. 10 is an elevational viewonra, largerscale, of the fastener for detachably securing the waxing .applianceto the housing.

Fig.11is a view ofvthe waxingappliance and mechanism on a-largerscale than that'of Figs.

3 and 9, the lowerpartbeing in verticalcrosssectiononthe line ll-11 of Fig. 12 to show the rotary pump. for,positively.mechanically feeding wax from thereservoir tothe floorand the valve for regulating and controlling the :flowof wax to the floor.

Fig. 12 is a front .elevational view-of the waxing appliance; and

' Fig. 13 is a horizontal cross-sectional view on the line 13-l3 of Fig. 12, but ;onalarger scale.

My floor finishing machine comprises a casing or housing 1, preferably-composed of two parts, 2 and ,3, provided with atelescoped joint 4 offset a little from the median line of the machine, the two parts being rigidly secured together in any suitable manner as by -two screws .5, 5-passing through the vertical wall of the part 2 and fitting into suitable lugs or projections 6, 6 inthe part 3 as indicated in "Fig. 3. Thecasing pr housing 1 is provided with an enlarged chamber '7 in which are the rotor 8 and stationary fieldwindings 9, 90f the electric; motor '10 andon each side of the enlarged chamber-'7 are two cylindrical chambers 11, 11, the axes of which are vertical and parallel to each other, andfifi set to the frontof the axis of the motor shaft 12. .The casing or housing 1 supports the hearings; for

themotor shaft 12, the bearings being preferably tubes 13, 13, of any suitable material, cut away on one side adjacent the vertical chambers 11, 11, to permit the worm gears 14,14 mounted on the upper ends of the brushshafts 15, 15 respectively to mesh with right and left hand worms 16, 16' with which said motor shaft 12 is provided and through which the motionof the motor shaft 12 is imparted to the brush shafts 15 to drive them in opposite directions. Each end of the motor shaft 12 is preferably provided with a conical recess 17 into which fits a hardened ball 18, said ball being engaged on the opposite side by a projection 19 on the end of a short screw 20 threaded into the casing in alinement with the axis of the motor shaft 12. The surface of said projection 19 adjacent the ball 18 is preferably plane and normal to the axis of the shaft 12 and said ball and projection are preferably of hardened steel.

The surfaces 21 of the casing or housing 1 sur .roundingthe upper end of the vertical cylindrical chambers 11, 11 are preferably flat and hori- Z ontal and downwardly from these flat surfaces 21 in a vertical plane coincident with the axis of the motor shaft is driven a jam screw 22, the

lower end of which may be forced into the screwthreads of the screw 29 to lock the screw 20 from rotation when once the proper adjustment of the bearingsurface of the projection 19 against thenballi 18' has been effected. In this locking position the upper end of the jam screw is at leastflush with and is preferably below the plane of the surfaceZl, and I provide the upper ends of the screws 22 with an axial socket22, polygonal in transverse cross-section,'thus requiring a special pwrench for the screws 22. The casing or housing 1 ,is preferably provided with two covers 23 each respectively fitting over the flat surfaces 21 and covering thesame and-forming aclosure for the upper ends of said cylindrical chambers 11,,said covers 23 beingpreferably permanently retained in place by screws '24.

t will thus be seen that once the thrust bearings of the motor have heenadjusted and the plates 23-.sec ured in position, it will 'be impossible toturn said; screws 20 until after the jam screws 22 have beenloosened. Since the location of the jam screws 22 and in fact their very existence, is concealed by the cover plates 23, one unfamiliar with the inner construction of the machine does not know'how to release the screws 20 to adjust the bearings and, if he does removethe plates or covers 23, he will probably not have a wrench which will fit the socket 22'. In this way an attempted adjustment of the bearings by an inexperienced person, or a person who is not mechanically inclined, is practically preventedand this insures against the unnecessary tampering with the thrust bearings, and the consequent nus-adjustment of the same, and insures the proper'cperation of the mechanism over long periods of time. k

Each worm gear is is preferably xeyed to the upper end of a brush shaft 15 by a key 25 and is permanently retained thereon by. a nut 26. Each brush shaft 15, 15 is preferably mounted to turn in a pair of spaced bearings 2'7, 27, forced into and permanently frictionally retained in the lower portion of a cylindrical chamber 11. The space between the two alined bearings 27, 27, constitutes a chamber in which 1 preferably fit absorbent material, such as felt washers 27 to retain any lubricant which might work into the chamber, and thus prevent it from leaking through the lower bearing 27 to the floor.

Below its lower bearing 2"! each shaft 15 is preferably provided with a flange 15 providing a shoulder, andbelow said flange 15' with a brush engaging end 28 which is preferably polygonal in transverse cross-section. 1 preferably make these ends 28 substantially square in transverse cross-section and thevertical corners between LED the fiat surfaces 28 rounded. This squaredend 28 is adapted to slide easily longitudinally into a brush 31, as by screws 32 passing through the flange 302. This socket bushing 30 preferably fits into a holepassing through the back 33 of the.

- brush vertically at the center thereof and the lower end of the socket bushing 30 is provided with a rigid loop 34 approximately semicircularin shape, extending downwardly into a conical recess35 on the underside of the back 33 of the i brush so that an operator may invert the hous ing, insert a finger through the loop'34 and easily ing in the closed end 41 of the shell 39. Said rod 37 is provided with a head 42 outside the closure draw the brush 31 off from the squared end 28 of the shaft by exerting a jerk onthe loop. "The brush 31 is provided with a plurality of rows of bunches of bristles 36, by which the weight of the entire mechanism is supported upon the floor.

-One of the surfaces of the interlocking portions of the shaft 15, and the socketsleeve 30%, for instance, a surface 28' of the shaft, is provided with a plunger 37 which is spring pressed toward a coacting surface 29 in the interlocking portion of .the bushing 30. I preferably use a locking device which is a unit 38 comprisingthe plunger 37 having a preferably spherical outer end housed inand normally held projecting wen beyond the otherwise open end of a cartridge shaped shell 39 by a spring 40, surrounding'a.

rearwardly extending rod 3'1 unitary, with the plunger 37 and projecting through asmall opentherefore, a brush is slipped over the squared end 28 of the shaft 15 and pressedtoward' -the collar 15 the'plunger head 3.7 will 'fi'rst be engag'ed'by the tapering surface ',attheupper end of the position the upper end of the preferably make the upper wall 44 inithe form hole 29 and will be depressed intojthe shell39 and slidingover theshoulder-45 will slide down over the reversely curved or tapered surface 44 to the deepestpart of the groove 44 inwmeh i bushing 30 will be -seated on the flange 15'.

' The pressure of the springs 40 o'n'the plungers 38 when the'latter are thus seated in the re-v cesses or grooves 44,as shownin Fig. '6, is made amply suihcient to retain the brushes securely on the ends of the shafts 15 whenever the de vice, as a whole, is lifted from the floor; "In order, however, that there may be no diffieulty in removing the brushes from the shafts 15, I

of .a reversed curve longitudinally's o that it' will have a camming action on the spheri'cal end of the plunger 3'7 and easily depress the plunger 3'7 into its shell 39 against the tension of" the spring 40 by the application ofa, sharp tug'or pull on the loop 34 of the socket sleeve'30." With the four walls or surfaces 29 of the socket hole 29 thus provided with undercut grooves 44 hr the manner above described, no care is required to be exercised in placing the brushes ohthe.

ends of the shafts. As soon as the brushis turned to bring'a fiat side 29 of the hole 29 against a flat surface 28' of the end of the brush shafts, the 'brushmay be easily slipped over the end 28 of the brush shaft into locking position and the plunger will project into the groove 44 with which the wall adjacent thereto is provided. Heretofore it'has been deemed necessary to provide the ends of the brush shafts with right and left-hand screws and,-of course, that precludes any interchange of brushes from the right to the left-hand side of the machine and vice-versa and requires the operator to know which way a brush must be rotated to take it off of or put it onto the shaft. By my improvement, such difiiculties are avoided. I Any of the brushes which can be used in my device, can be merely slipped over the endof either shaft which fits into a similar polygonal hole in the brush, and to remove the.

brush one merely applies a sharp tug or jerk to the bail at the middle of the brush andthe brush slides off the end of theshaft. This construction forms the subject-matter of my U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,865,032, granted June 28, 1932, the application of which was filed as a division of the present specification.

Within the enlarged chamber 9 andrigid with the motor shaft 12, I preferably provide a fan 46 and the ends of the enlarged chamber are preferably provided with passages 47, 48. Air may be drawn through the passages. 4'7 by the fan, may be impelled over'the windings of the motor and delivered out through the passage 48, thus keeping the motor cool under working conditions. Y

The casing 1 is also preferably provided with a yoke 49 which is pivotally secured to the op-.

posite sides of the casing at the ends of the yoke by screws 50 and in the casing adjacent the pivot screws 50 I preferably provide spring pressed plungers 51 similar to those employed at the polygonal end of the brush shafts and adapted.

to engage a slight depression 52 in the head of studsf53 each carried by an arm respectively of the yoke'and in registration or alinement with the plungers 51 when the yoke is in substantially vertical position, to hold the handle vertical when thedevice is not in use. At the upper point of the yoke 49 and ono the underside thereof, I provide a recess in which is fitted an electrical reeeptacle 54 for the insertion of the prongs or, an

electric plug 55 attached to the end of a short cable 56 which passes through an opening 5'? in the rear wall of the casing and by means of which electric power may be communicated to the the hollow shaft or handle 59 and through the,

grip60 out of the end of the grip and is of a length suflicient to permit of its attachment to asuitable electricreceptacle in a baseboard or otherwise provided as is common to the use of vacuum cleaners and like domestic apparatuses.

The electric switch 61 which I mount in the 'grip' 60 has a trigger-like operating lever 62 which is yieldingly held pressed forwardly by a spring 63. In this position the circuit is broken. When the operator grasps the grip 60 and draws back on lever 62 as on a trigger, such movement of the trigger operates the switch 61 to close the circuit. I'have not undertaken to illustrate the switch mechanism 61, except diagrammatically,

but I have shown the operating finger or trigger 62' as normally heldpressed forwardlyor downwardly by a spring 63.

,to coast with a spring pressed plunger I have indicated the position of the outer ends of the commutator brushes 6% orthe holders for the same, on diametrically opposite sides of the commutator 65, but they may be of usual and standard construction. I also preferablyencircle the lower edge of the skirt 1- of the housing or casing l with a rubber cushion 66 .to prevent the marring of the walls or furniture which may be struck by the appar tus in operating it.

Since apparatus is to be used at times as awax applying mechanism, I preferably mount on the inside lower forward edge of the skirt 1, at the middle of the casing, on 'a lug 67- therein provided, a plate 68 on the innerside of which are rigidly secured two fasteners 69, 69 respectively in axial alinement with two holes '70, '70

through the plate 63, the lug 67 and the skirt 1,

the axes of the holes being preferably parallel and horizontal.

The fasteners 69 are what are commonly used to removably secure the side curtains of an automobile, each comprising a casing or-housing '71 within which are slightly away from each other where theycross or traverse an otherwise clear opening 73 through the housing 71. Said lengths of spring wire are forced apart when the conical head of a pin is inserted through the housing l1 between them, and they spring back toward each ,othe into a groove or neck with which the pin is provided immediately to the rear of the conical end thereof as soon as the said groove comes into registration therewith. Two of such fasteners 69 mounted on the base or carrier plate 68 are,

sufficiently illustrated in Fig. 9 to indicate the kind or type of fastening means with which I prefer to provide the casing orhousing 1.

In Fig. 7 the lower end 28 of the shaft 15 is cylindrical and fits into a cylindrical hole 29 in the bushing a cross-pin 28*, the projecting ends of which fit into notches 38 in the top edge of the, bushing 30. The inner surface of the hole 29eis provided with an annular circumferential groove 44 and the tapering surface at the upper end of the hole 29 and the curved wall 44 all El as abovedescrioed in connection with Figs. '1 to 7. 1 E ha e also shown the loop or bail 3 as separate from the sleeve 30 having its ends fitting against the wall of the conical recess 35 and secured in place by screws 32F passingthrcugh the ends of the loop 34 and the back 31, and threaded into the flange 39. I preferablyupset the upper ends of the screws 32 to prevent loos ening. There are certain advantages to this construction. The brushes are perhaps more easily slipped over a cylindrical end of a brush shaft than over a polygonal end; and no obstruction such as an integral loop or bail 34 is present to interfere with free access to the interior of the hole 29 from either end of the bushing 3O thereby facilitating the mechanical operation of the hole to fitthe shaft. The operation precisely the same as above described in that the brushes may he slipped overthe lower end of either shaft irrespective of its direction of rotation and into driving engagement therewith, and are easily removed by pulling onthe loop.

My waxing appliance, illustratedin detail in Figs. 11, 12, and 13, comprises a generally cylindrical wax container or reservoir 74 having a cylindrical neck 75 at its lower end and a cover secured two lengths or stretches '12, 72 of resilient wire oppositely bowed I The end 28 isprovided with or' closure 76 at its upper end. The neck '75 is tightly permanently fitted into a cylindrical chamber 77. in the upper part '78 of the carriage body '78. The lower part 78" of the carriage '78 constitutes a housing within which is mounted two small spur gears 79, 80 having small intermeshing teeth. The lower part '78" of the carriage body is preferably provided with a generally oblong recess 81 of a depth equal to the thickness of. the gears '79 and 80, andthe ends of the recess are arcuateand smoothly fit around and against preferably more than one-half of the outer periphery of the gears 79 and 30. The carriage '78, includes a flat cover plate 82 smoothly'bearing against the sides of the gears '79 and 80 which lie' flat against the bottom surface of said recess 81. The plate 82ispreferably held in place'by screws 83.

The forward gear 79 is rigidly keyed to a shaft 84 mounted to rotate in alined bearings 85, 85 in the carriage and plate 32 respectively. On the ends of the shaftSe are the wheels 86, 86 of the carriage, rigidly secured to the shaft in any suitable manner, as by the pins 87. The wheels 86 are preferably provided with rubber tires 88 to provide sufficient friction to insure their rotation on the polished floor.

I preferably provide the carriage 78 with glands or stuffing boxes 89 just outside of the bearings 85 to prevent waxfroin leaking through said bearings.

Since the wall of the recess 81 is preferably in contact with a substantial portion of the perimeterof the gear 80, the said gear 80 may be freely rotated bythe gear 79 intermeshing therewith, without providing said'gear 80 with a shaftor pivotal journal. Just above the intermeshing portions of the teeth of the gears '79. and 80, I provide a smallchamber 90 which communicates, by a passage 9]., withe, chamber 7? and so with the interior of the reservoir of wax container 74. Below the intermeshing portions of the teeth of the said gears, I provide a similar small chamber 92 which in turn communicates with a passage 93 extending vertically downward and preferably terminating in a slightly larger bore into which is fixedlysecured in any suitable manner a thin walled tube 94 having an oblique end 94' the lowest portion of said oblique end being rearmost of the carriage. I also preferably provide the carriage witha valve 95 for regulating and con trollingthe delivery of wax through the passage 93,. and for closing the passage, the same preferably consisting of a screw 96 screwthreaded into a hole 97 which passes transversely through the axis of the passage 93. The diameter of the screw is preferably a little greater than the diameter of the passage 93. The outer end of the screw 96 is preferably provided with a knurled head 98 by means of which the screw may be rotated." The opening or hole 9'7 is preferably so deep that when the screw has been advanced to the bottom of the hole 9'1, the said screw will extend across and close the passage 93. i

From the rear side of the carriage extending rearwardly from the up erpart of the carriage is a lug 99 and depending therefrom are preferably .two vertical parallel cylindrical studs or .pins 100, 100 which are of a diameter to loosely fit and slide through parallel vertical holes 101 alined therewith and in a cross bar 102. This cross bar is preferably retained on the pins or studs 100 by cross pins 103. Extending rearwardly from the crossbar: 102 are two generally cylindrical studs 104 parallel to each other and horizontally disposed and terminating in conical ends or heads 105, the studs 104 being provided each with a "circumferential groove 106 forming a"neck"be-' V nearest-the head 105 is preferablya conical sur- "face tapering rearwardly outwardly from the[ bottom of the groove to the head.

" These studs 104 are rigidly mounted in the'cross ba'r 102 and are adapted to be brought into alinement with and inserted into=thej holes 70 in the.

" skirt 1' of the'casing or housing land through the fasteners 69to a point where the wires 72' "of the fasteners are seated or'rest'in the'grooves' 106i'mmediately adjacent thefconicalheads 105.

'To' operatively secure my waxing appliance to the front of the housing forthe polishing brushes,

one, merely has to insert the stud 104.- into the:

holes 70 and to remove one merely has to pull the.

carriage and with it the studs away fronr'the' housing 1, drawing the studs out of their locking engagement with the fasteners 69. The slanting wall 106" of the grooves are operative toforce' appliance away from the housing.

When-attached to the housing, as shown in Fig. 9, substantially the entire weight of the wax ing appliance and the wax carried thereby, is:

supported upon the wheels 86 for the vertical studs 100 slide freely through the openingslOl' in the cross bar 102 and permit the waxing ap-' I v pliance to rise and fall with respect to the housing 1 as the waxing appliance travels over the .In practice, the upper ends of the chambers 11' are filled with a' grease in which thejworms 16,1. 16f and worm gears 14, 14 rotate and'toprevent this grease from being forced'through' the"bear-" ings of the rotor' shaft 12toward therotor 3, I make the pitchof the worr'nsf16, 16"such as to cause the grease with which the worms are sur-' rounded to move in a direction away from 'the' rotor. Thus assumingthe top of the rotor torotate forwardly, in a clockwisedirection look ing toward the rotor from the left handside of Fig. 3, as indicated by the arrow'placed on the rotor in said figure, then the pitch of the worm 16 shown in Fig. 3 will be a right hand pitch and the g reas'ein the chamber '11 will be churned in the direction that the worm gear 14. rotates, as"; indicated by the arrow on the worm gear 14 in Fig. 3, and the movement of the grease in the chamber 11 adjacent the worm will be away from that part of the bearing of the shaft 13 between the worm'16 and the rotor 8 and thus away fromsaid rotor. In like manner, the worm 16' on the other end of the shaft, and as shown in Figs. 1

- and 4, is provided with a left-hand pitchso that'f in Figs. 1 and 3.

the grease in the chamberll around the worm 16f will similarly move or be forced or crowded by, the worm in a direction away from the rotor, as indicated by the arrows on the worm gear 14.

I preferablyfit awasher 107 in a recess in the casing lat the inner ends of the bearing tubes 13', tightly fitting the shaft 12 to insure that no grease from the chamber. 'llshall leak past the bearings13 to the commutator orto the fan 46'of thegrotor 8. a The vertical brush shafts 15 are preferably in front of the horizontal motor shaft 12 and'the brushes '31 will consequently .be rotated in op posite directionsthe' perimeters'of the brushes, at the front of the casing or housing, 1, rotating quantities.

toward each other and toward the middle line consequent rotation of the intermeshing gear in the opposite direction away from the chamber 90. When, therefore, the passage91 and drama her-9O are filled with a fluid wax; the gears constitute a rotary'pu'mp'which pumps the wax from the. 'reservoin'le' and delivers substantially metered quantities ofwax to the floor, the quantity depending on the extent of the forward movement of the machine. The spaces between adjacent teeth of each gear and the arcuate walls of the'recess iil are filled with wax, and it is expressed into the chamber 96 from between the gear teeth, as; the said teeth come into mesh above the chamber 96, thereby filling the cham- 7 her 92 andforcing the wax downwardly through the passage 93 and tube 94'to the floor in advance the wire's72 apart by firmly pulling the waxing of the brush'es and in controlled predetermined When the floor finishing machineis moved backwardly' or in the opposite direction,

:then the" gears revolve in the opposite direction and there'isno'delivery of wax to the floor durin'gsuch'movem'ent, The amount of wax delivered to the flooris controlled by and is proportional'to the distance that they apparatus is advanced in aforward direction, a certain amount being'delivered in a given travel or distance and "that this amount is not-varied by the speedat which the apparatus is moved backward and forwardly,"The delivery of wax is absolutely independent of'the" motor which is used to impart rotary movement to the brushes. When the floor does not requirewaxing but merelya repolishing, the waxing applianceis easily removed without disturbing or: disarranging any part of the brush operating mechanism and different. brushes, if desired,'may'be easily substituted for those which were-used in applying the wax.'

While my'waxin'g appliance is particularlyl adapted for the use of a wax' which is fluid or liquid at ordinary household temperatures, the relatively small, easily removed and attached waxing unit, makes possible the use of normally solid wax in amelted condition, it being only necessaryto heat the waxing unit in any suitable manner-and to fillfitwith melted wax which will ordinarily remain fluid for an hour or two, which issuffici'ently long to enable one to-wax and polish the floors before it solidifies. If the wax should solidify during such'use, the reservoirmay be readily detached, re-heatedand reattached to the casing. 1

,Similarly, if any normally liquid wax standing in the unit should solidify because'of ex- 1135 p'osure to temperatures below those at which the Y wax' isliquid, or because of the evaporation of the solvent or vehicle, it is only necessary to remove the unit, heat it and in this manner bring the wax back to-a fluid condition.

The positively acting mechanical feed is also important'in this connection for, once adjusted, the same amount of wax is delivered tothe floor, irrespective of the density of the fluid. Many liquid waxes contain clots, particularly if the wax 3.45

has not Ibeen thoroughly agitated before using.

Butfthe pumping action'of'the gears, 79, 80"prevents suchg' stoppages,"and makesthe operation 50 

